How To Get On Top Of Your Anxiety For Good

There’s an anxiety epidemic in our society, and midlife women are particularly vulnerable. So what can we do to stop it? Andréa Childs reports...

- Andrea Childs

We’ve all experienced that jittery feeling, a lump in the throat and ‘what if it all goes wrong’ fear that whirs around our brain when we’re in the middle of a house sale, prepping for a job interview, or waiting for hospital results. Anxiety may not be nice, but it’s normal, natural and motivating. Until it’s not. When nerves don’t go away when those feelings of dread begin to dominate, then anxiety is a problem – it increases our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and gastrointestinal disorders.

“It’s normal for people to feel anxious at some point, but nervousness can become extreme, with psychological symptoms including feeling that you’re going to die, lose control or faint,” explains psychiatrist Dr. Dimitrios Paschos. “Physical symptoms include tingling in the hands and feet, dizziness, breathing difficulty, nausea, and perspiration.” The reaction happens as we perceive a threat, and our body responds with a rush of cortisol. “Anxiety is different from stress, as stress is a response to a specific trigger. When the stressor – such as financial pressures or relationship issues – is removed, so is the stress. With anxiety, symptoms persist, and sometimes the stressor isn’t identifiable,” says Dr. Paschos.

ANXIOUS TIMES